12-13-2023, 06:45 PM
Made a 2nd range trip today and shot through another 40 rounds of Frontier 123gr FMJ.
After stripping, cleaning and lubing the bolt again, as well as scraping whatever crusty stuff was living along the charging handle track, I had no issues with the function of the rifle. On each empty mag, the bolt locked properly, and I was even able to turn down the gas a little and get this guy shooting soft (at least in terms of a low recoil cartridge).......I started at "full open" and you can definitely notice the difference when the gas was turned down a bit.
Found a spot on the 50 yd line, and in true "Hornady Podcast" fashion, I shot a 20 round group........just under an inch off a bipod, I'd call it 1.5 MOA at this point. The first 5 looked a little tighter, but as groups do, it opened up a little with a longer string of fire.
Pretty happy so far, and I'm anxious to get my son back behind this rifle to work on some shooting fundamentals. I have access to my sister's farm, with wide open spaces, so will probably try to get him in a position to shoot some steel at longer distances by Spring.
After stripping, cleaning and lubing the bolt again, as well as scraping whatever crusty stuff was living along the charging handle track, I had no issues with the function of the rifle. On each empty mag, the bolt locked properly, and I was even able to turn down the gas a little and get this guy shooting soft (at least in terms of a low recoil cartridge).......I started at "full open" and you can definitely notice the difference when the gas was turned down a bit.
Found a spot on the 50 yd line, and in true "Hornady Podcast" fashion, I shot a 20 round group........just under an inch off a bipod, I'd call it 1.5 MOA at this point. The first 5 looked a little tighter, but as groups do, it opened up a little with a longer string of fire.
Pretty happy so far, and I'm anxious to get my son back behind this rifle to work on some shooting fundamentals. I have access to my sister's farm, with wide open spaces, so will probably try to get him in a position to shoot some steel at longer distances by Spring.